Phase IV (1974)

Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the desert inhabitants. It is up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them. ... See full summary »

Director:

Saul Bass

Writer:

Mayo Simon

Stars:

Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport, Lynne Frederick

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Murphy	...	James R. Lesko
Nigel Davenport	...	Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs
Lynne Frederick	...	Kendra Eldridge
Alan Gifford	...	Mr. Eldridge
Robert Henderson	...	Clete
Helen Horton	...	Mildred Eldridge

Storyline

Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the desert inhabitants. It is up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them. But the ants have other ideas.

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Plot Keywords:

ants | desert | scientist | exterminator | murder | 

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Taglines:

Ravenous Invaders Controlled by a Terror Out in Space Commanded to Annihilate the World!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Du tror inte dina ögon

Filming Locations:

Rift Valley, Kenya

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alced Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 84 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is footage from the original discarded ending in the trailer for the film.

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Goofs

During one of the scenes inside the dome, Lynne Frederick speaks with a English accent instead of the American accent she uses during the rest of the film.

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Quotes

Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs: You did your major work applying game theory to the language of killer whales.
James R. Lesko: Well, it seemed cheaper than applying it to roulette
Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs: Did you actually *succeed* in making positive contact with the whales?
James R. Lesko: Only with the emotionally disturbed.
Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs: How were you able to determine that?
James R. Lesko: We talked!

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Crazy Credits

The title is not revealed until the end credits. It is divided into segments "Phase I," Phase II," and "Phase III," and only at the very end when Phase IV is reached is the title ever given.

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Connections

Featured in Phase 7 (2011)

User Reviews

Intelligent SF

A fairly unknown SF film, but I would definitely recommend it. It's in typical seventies style: the world is doomed, the human race has messed up, and now we pay the price. Well, what else is new, right? The things a lot of these seventies movies predicted are now becoming reality (global warming in Soylent Green), earthquakes, disasters, diseases, you name it. Even the world is run by damn dirty apes now! That is why I always enjoy these movies, including "minor" classics such as the Andromeda Strain, Omega Man and Phase IV. Phase IV tells us what a lot of scientists know already: insects will survive us all, they are intelligent, inventive and indestructible. This movie tries to tackle the subject in a quite serious fashion (no giant rubber monsters here), and perhaps that's is why is has slowly vanished into movie limbo: it's not a spectacular and exciting movie, it tells us what could happen (and in a very grim and scary atmosphere). It's this reality that makes it exciting, not all the overload of effects and action people expect today. I liked the movie a lot, and sincerely hope it gets a DVD release. With all the crap they put out these days, isn't there some room for quality and intelligent stories? I actually saw the movie during its theatrical release, and believe me, this one belongs on DVD!